


I still remember

by Sunset_Woods



Category: BBC Look and Read, Through the Dragon's Eye
Genre: Adult Themes, F/F, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunset_Woods/pseuds/Sunset_Woods
Summary: Fourteen years after her adventure in Pelamar, Jenny looks for a way to return.
Relationships: Amanda Jackson/Original male and female characters, Boris/Morris, Doris/Jenny, Scott Bates/Original male character





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a brand new work of mine from a brand new fandom that I fell in love with two years ago after much heartache with my RPF writing, that I haven't given up on completely but have taken a back seat from it for now. One thing I have learned since becoming a fanfiction writer is you cannot rely on people. Anyway, Through the dragon's eye was something I watched years ago at school as a little girl. Then as the years went on, I just kind of forgot about it, as you do. I remember at the time, Doris being somewhat of a girl crush to me, however, I never thought of writing anything about it until recently. I started to dream up a whole back story for the Keepers and the history of Pelamar and that whole universe, simply because it was just a story made for kids but so much more could be done with it. I will, naturally be making the characters gay, don't like that, don't read. Anyway please let me know what you think of what I have so far, starting with Jenny, then Amanda and Scott will be making an appearance later.

~

I thought of you the other day

How worlds of change led us astray

Colours seem to fade to gray

In the wake of yesterday...

~

Jenny never forgot her brief time in Pelamar. Many times, she wished she had never left. 

After fourteen years, no matter how hard she tried, Doris, the purple Veetacore keeper was never far from her thoughts. 

Even before she knew she liked girls rather than boys, there had been something about Doris that attracted her, occupying her thoughts and dreams and Jenny knew...she just knew that the feelings she had for this otherworldly woman were far more than simple admiration. Was it weird that Doris was the one Pelamot she had never been able to forget, the one to have a lasting impression on her?

Although getting through to Doris had been frustrating when they first met, Jenny could not get over that pretty, purple bespectacled face that, instead of giving Doris a gawky look, somehow was endearing. 

As Jenny was growing up, the dreams that she began to have about Pelamar...and Doris in particular, which started the same night she came home after the adventure, became less and less innocent. 

As the years went on, Jenny became convinced that something was calling her back to Pelamar. 

She became convinced that sometimes, she could hear a woman’s voice whispering, _‘Come back to me, Jenny’._ The voice always sounded forlorn and made her feel immensely sad. 

When this happened, Jenny realised she had been empty since she left Pelamar. She had been, without truly realising it, depressed for the rest of her childhood and since then, had been determined that one day she would return. She had always refused to accept that she and her friends had been called there for one reason alone, to save Pelamar and then go back home and forget the whole thing. 

Oh no, it did not work like that, at least not for her. 

When they had returned from their adventure, back to the place where it had all begun, with the mural they had been painting in the school playground, Jenny and her friends had been gifted with tiny, mini Veetons that shone in the dark.

Jenny did not believe that Gorwen the dragon had given them these treasures simply to remember him by, she did not believe they had been given as souvenirs as Scott and Amanda believed. They had _mended the Veetacore, they had saved Pelamar,_ and she refused to believe that would be the last time she was to set eyes on that place again.

At first, that was exactly what she _had_ thought. 

Scott and Amanda, although they treasured their little Veetons and kept them in a safe place, also seemed to believe that Pelamar had been a once in a lifetime adventure and that their lives would go on as if they had never been there. 

Indeed, for so long, that seemed to be exactly the case. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened again, the three of them carried on with their school life as if nothing had ever happened. They all finished school, got jobs, and lived ordinary lives, as though the whole thing had been a dream. 

Jenny only began to think she was meant to return to Pelamar when she began to have more intense dreams than before. Not only that, but she would wake up with songs in her head that she was certain she had never heard before. She would also feel emotional and reach for her mini Veeton, staring at it for hours, convinced that somehow she was meant to find this land once again, but as daylight came, the whole thing would seem ridiculous to her. 

Even if there _was_ a way to return, how would she do it? 

She remembered reading books about children who had found their way into another world through different means every time, but this had never been the case for her. 

Unlike in these fictional children’s stories, she and her friends had never even had a second adventure - not through their mural, a wardrobe like in the story she had read, or any other way...and now she was no longer a child! 

She was a woman of twenty-five. 

Why would Pelamar want her back anyway? 

What would she do if or when she got there at any rate? 

Yet if she was never meant to return to that land, why could she not get it out of her mind? Why was _Doris_ always in her thoughts? She had even explored other relationships to try and forget the purple woman, even thinking she was in love with a couple of these other girls she got involved with. One time, she thought she had found a girl who would make her forget, a girl she could give her heart to completely...but then she would kiss her, and Doris would come into mind. She remembered looking at one particular girl, and in her mind, the girl’s face would melt into Doris’. Then the torture and longing would begin again.

Sometimes she never knew if she loved Doris or hated her for putting her through this, for not allowing her to move on with her life and be happy with someone else, in her _own world!_ Yes, her anger had become a serious problem in recent times, and had got her into trouble. 

She even had a criminal record!

Jenny was sitting on her bed thinking of all this, it was a rainy afternoon, dreary and miserable like she was feeling inside. The past few years had not been easy for her. The past few years that she would rather forget, had seen her losing her job, going from one failed relationship to another, falling out with her mother and even being sectioned. 

How it had all come to this she could not understand, and she knew instinctively that it was all connected with what had happened to her and her friends years ago. Scott and Amanda really did seem to have carried on with their lives...so why hadn’t she? Why was she any different from them?

Doctors treating her would tell her that what happened to her years ago was all in her head, that it never happened, she had simply been playing an imaginary, make-believe game with her friends, and she somehow believed that it was all real. They tried to convince her that the right medication would help her, and yes, she took the tablets prescribed to her, but they made no difference to anything...although she pretended they did.

Jenny knew that she was not mad, though she regretted telling her counsellor about Pelamar because of course, no one was going to believe that this had really happened to her. This was what had led to her being committed to a psychiatric hospital for several weeks...what a fool she had been to say anything.

Suddenly, her mind went back to where it had all begun, at school...the mural.

It was still there after all those years, still the pride of place in the school playground.

She had worked at that school as a classroom assistant, happy that she could see it every day...until one day...they asked her to leave her position. The excuse was that they did not like what she had been telling some of the children about the dragon in the painting...but she knew the truth. Some of the teachers and other staff knew she was a lesbian, and were not comfortable with that, but they could not sack her for that reason. So they used underhand tactics, looking for other ways to get rid of her. Eventually, they succeeded.

Jenny came out of her train of thought and opened the drawer of her bedside table, taking out the small wooden box that was inside, she opened the lid. As she did so, strands of pretty yellow light gushed out. The light always seemed to be brighter when it was dark, and as it was a dull day, the room was dark, so the light from the box made the room brighter, as though she had turned on a lamp. 

She took out the beautiful shining object that was inside the box. There it was again, her little sphere-shaped Veeton, only about the size of one of those bouncy balls you could get from a machine. It represented one of the last Veetons they had placed to make up the Veetacore. The round one that apparently, according to Scott, had knocked the orange keeper Boris out cold when it hit him on the head. 

It had been one of the three they had gone looking for in the land of Widge, and it was a special one to Jenny. The reason for that being it was the first one Doris had really allowed her to handle when she had handed it to Jenny and told her to put it in the right place. 

Jenny smiled as she remembered. Whenever she was feeling down, she would come to her room to get this pretty object out and stare at it, and it would cheer her up for a while. She never told anyone about what she had in her possession, otherwise, she was sure that her mother and the mental health team she had been seeing would insist she got rid of it. They would think it was unhealthy to hang on to it. In a way, Jenny knew they would technically be right. Which was why she said nothing.

She suddenly began to wonder if her little Veeton was the key to returning to Pelamar!

What if she _could_ get back there through the mural? What if the reason she had not been able to before was that she had not had her Veeton with her? Could that be possible?

She looked at her Veeton, a warm feeling suddenly overcame her. It had to be magic. How else would it have been able to glow constantly - more so in the dark?

She had often examined it, and surely if it were just a toy then the light from it would have run out years ago. How else could it constantly glow without growing tired? There were no batteries or bulbs in it at all. It seemed like a perfectly natural light. There was definitely something special about this tiny round object and why had she never thought of its purpose before?

She stood up from her bed, placed the Veeton in the breast pocket of her t-shirt and made her way to the bedroom door. She knew where she was going.

Making her way downstairs, she remembered the answerphone message she had received that morning from her girlfriend Nikki...or ex-girlfriend now. She had listened to the message in a daze and hardly taken in what had been said, yet had been relieved at the same time when she realised it was Nikki breaking off the relationship. Jenny had been wanting to break up for weeks but did not know how to do so.

Looking at the screen on her home phone, she remembered she had not even bothered to delete the message. 

She decided to play it again one last time:

_“Hi Jenny, it’s Nikki, are you there?_

_No...of course you’re not, you never are anymore._

_Listen, honey...I didn’t want to have to do this over the phone, and certainly not in an answerphone message, but seriously you’ve given me no choice._

_The truth is babe...I...I can’t do this anymore. I can’t have a relationship with you if I don’t hear from you for days and if I’m always wondering if I did something wrong._

_I know you’ve had it rough lately and I understand that, but you obviously have unsolved issues that you clearly haven’t dealt with. That’s the only way I can try to understand your odd behaviour...either that or you’re seeing someone else, I never know with you anymore._

_I care about you and I’ve tried to be there for you when things have been difficult but...well I’m sorry but I have to think of myself as well. A relationship works both ways and I’m tired of being the one who’s always making an effort, so...this is me...opting out I suppose. I don’t really know what to say but, as sad as I am to have to do this, I’m also relieved. It’s not fair that every time we sleep together I wake up in the morning alone. I mean...for goodness sake what’s so important that you have to leave as early as six...sometimes five in the morning?_

_Understand Jenny that there’s no hard feelings, and I don’t hold anything against you either, I just can’t live like this anymore._

_Goodbye Jenny, I honestly and really do hope you find what you’re looking for. Take care love.”_

After Jenny had listened to those final words, she sighed and said out loud, “Bye Nikki, thanks...I hope I find it too, I need all the luck in the world.”

She then deleted the message, then put on her jacket ready to go out. She had to see if her brainwave theory about her mini Veeton was correct.

***

Jenny pulled up her car outside the school. It was of course closed for the day, the children and teachers had gone home and the street seemed quiet. She closed her eyes, held tightly to the steering wheel, took a deep breath, opened her eyes again, and looked all around her. No one seemed to be about, not on the street or in the school grounds.

What if she was wrong? She had got herself into enough trouble the past few years for her behaviour. If she was caught trespassing on the school grounds and it had all been for nothing...well it would just about destroy her...then again...she decided that if she was wrong about her Veeton, then she would kiss goodbye to the idea of returning to Pelamar once and for all. She would move on. 

Sitting in the car, looking out into the street, she decided, this was it. One final attempt at the mural then she would move on. She had to, or she would go insane.

All the same, if she did not try this out, then she would regret it forever. She could not miss this chance...if there was any chance at all.

Jenny undid her seatbelt, then, making sure her Veeton was still in her pocket, she reached in and pulled it out. She could have been mistaken, but she could swear that it had never shone this brightly before. The light from the small sphere was so bright, it dazzled her eyes and she had to look away from it like you would if you looked at the Sun

Jenny felt her heart race, partly with excitement, partly with nerves as the Veeton, not only shone and flashed brightly but also hummed. Was it trying to tell her something? Was it trying to tell her that it wanted to go home?

Not wanting the bright light to be seen by anyone passing, she quickly placed it back into her t-shirt pocket, then wrapped her coat around her tightly. She then made a move to get out of the car, looking around her as she locked the door, while also trying not to look like she was about to break into school grounds, which of course was what she was planning to do. She could see one or two people passing by, but thankfully, they took no notice of her, which was what she wanted. They had no reason to anyway, she had to keep telling herself.

She could still hear the Veeton humming inside her pocket. That had to mean something. She looked from the street into the school playground, she could see the mural just as it was the day they painted it, with Gorwen the dragon the main feature, the Veetacore House in the background, and the landscape that was Pelamar. 

Jenny knew the one place around the back by the field that was easy to climb over, so taking one last look at the mural, she whispered to the painting of Gorwen, “Hopefully see you soon.”

She then made her way to the end of the street and around the corner down another street that led to the school field. Back there, she remembered a fence that was not too high so she could easily climb it. 

Looking around her again, there was one woman walking past on the other side of the road, who casually looked at her for a second. Feeling paranoid, Jenny tried to give the impression that she was waiting for someone. 

She realised she need not have worried, as the woman simply walked on by showing no interest. She decided there and then to climb the fence, and if anyone saw her and asked what she was doing, she would just tell them her dog had run off into the field and she was just going after it. A pretty convincing lie, she thought, but a lie she hoped she would not have to tell.

While no one seemed to be around watching, she scrambled up the grass verge and climbed hastily over the fence. Jumping down on the other side, she checked to see if anyone at all may have seen her...no...no one down in the street below seemed to be there.

Her heart pounding fast, and praying that all this would not be in vain, Jenny made her way towards the gate that led from the school into the field. She was also hoping that the school caretaker, Ted Miller, who she had never liked, had also gone home. Last she heard, he was still working there, and if _he_ caught her trespassing, nothing good could come of it.

She took slow long breaths as she walked across the field, and kept telling herself that if anyone caught her, she would say she was looking for her dog, not that she really had a dog and had not had a pet for a few years, but that was the best lie she could come up with. 

Still, even though she had prepared an excuse to be where she wasn’t supposed to be, she was scared, very scared. More scared that she would never return to Pelamar than she was of being caught. As she approached the gate that led into the school from the field, she decided that if anyone was about, she would wait until dark and then try again.

All this time, she had still been able to hear the humming inside her pocket, something her Veeton had never done in all the years she had it in her possession. It was in her pocket, close to her heart, that and the humming had to be a sign, it just _had to be!_

Jenny approached the gate, it was locked, as she expected, but then she realised she would have to climb over it and it was quite high. She had never thought of that, but she would not let it stop her on her quest to be back in Pelamar again. 

She looked around to see if there was possibly an easier way to get in so she did not have to climb again, and sure enough, just bedside the gate, the wired fence was broken and unattached to the ground so that she could just lift it up and scramble underneath. Then she had an idea! She decided, just in case anyone should still be in the school and not gone home yet, she would call out. Give them a chance to hear her, then she could just pretend she had lost her dog and come back after dark.

So she lifted up the loose wire fence and called out, “BUSTER, BUSTER WHERE ARE YOU? COME BACK!”

Buster was a dog who belonged to one of her ex-girlfriends, so it was the first dog name that came into her head.

After she had squeezed her way under, she once again, just in case of the off chance someone was still at the school and saw her through the window, she called out again, loudly, “BUSTER, COME ON YOU NAUGHTY BOY, I’M NOT PLAYING ANYMORE!”

There was no answer from anyone, no one came out of any of the classroom doors, so she slowly, slowly made her way into the playground, calling out ‘BUSTER’ one more time, hoping against hope that if anyone did see her that she would be convincing enough instead of thinking she was up to no good.

Of course, she was not up to no good, she just wanted to see her old mural one last time, but no one would believe that would they?

Jenny entered the old school playground that held many memories, some good, some not so good, but all she could think of was the mural, then she saw it once again!

No one had made any changes to it at all, it was still the same. The dragon, green and scaly and standing beside a waterfall. In the background there were mountains and streams, flowers and toadstools...and she could not, of course, forget the white house in the distance. The house was, of course, the Veetacore house, where as a child she had met the woman of her dreams and helped her save the land with her reading ability. 

Jenny also remembered the important part she herself had played when completing this beautiful mural, the dragon’s eye. It had been her big moment, what she had described to Scott and Amanda as ‘the most important bit’. 

She gazed at the dragon as she remembered painting his eye...and that was where the whole adventure had begun...and to her, had never really ended.

She then began to feel emotional and tears began to form in her eyes. She had wondered many times growing up if what had happened to the three of them was a blessing or a curse since so many things had happened to her since, and they were not all good.

“Please let me come back Gorwen,” she whispered to the dragon in the painting. “Please let this be the day I return. There’s nothing for me here anymore, and I want to get to know Pelamar.”

She then reached in her pocket for her mini Veeton that had been humming the whole time since she arrived in her car, pulling out the beautiful sphere, she held it gently as it glowed brightly and hummed happily. She knew, she just knew in her heart that her Veeton was alive and happy to be here at last.

Jenny then found herself saying without thinking, “Let me in Gorwen, please, I can’t live like this anymore.”

Suddenly, as she stared, the waterfall on the mural began to move, the mural seemed to come to life, Jenny began to feel a fresh, clean breeze, like she was somewhere else entirely, yet still in the playground, staring at the mural. Yes, the picture seemed to be coming to life again just as it did all those years ago.

Suddenly she heard a voice behind her, _“Excuse me,”_ the voice called out.

Jenny turned, and to her horror, someone was looking at her from the school gate where her car was parked, it was a dark-haired woman she had never seen before, but obviously this woman knew that Jenny was not meant to be there, “Oh shit,” Jenny muttered to herself.

_“Can I help you?” The woman called out to her._

All Jenny could think of to say was, “N...no,” then she remembered what she was supposed to say if someone saw her. “I’m just looking for my…”

Then a beautiful sound made her turn back to the mural, the waterfall and the whole land in the picture was very much alive and seemed to be calling to her to come in. She was no longer afraid of anyone from this world who could see her, in a minute she would be gone from their sight.

Then she heard that woman’s voice again, “Hang on,” the woman called out. “I’ll come in there and talk to you!”

“No you won’t,” Jenny muttered to herself. “I’m going into the picture, to another world where you can’t find me.”

As she looked at the mural again, she suddenly realised Gorwen was no longer there, which was odd. However, she could see the whole land of Pelamar, more beautiful than it ever was the last time she was here, and it was calling to her. Then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, she found herself no longer in the school playground, but in this beautiful land completely. Where no one could find her, So the woman at the gate would not get to talk to her after all. She smiled at the thought, she had escaped!

She was back in Pelamar, but as she looked around her at the beautiful landscape, she suddenly wondered what she was going to do next.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenny is back in the place she has dreamed of for fourteen years, but how long has it been in Pelamar? With the help of Gorwen's gift, she looks for the Veetacore house in the hope that Doris is still around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing the first five chapters of this story, I hope you enjoy reading it, but like I said, if you are likely to be offended that Jenny is a lesbian and all three of the Keepers are gay...Scott will also be gay and Amanda bi...don't read!

_~_

You looked into my eyes

You had me hypnotised and

I can still remember you...

~

The most delicious, pure, clean air that Jenny had ever known surrounded her and for the first time in a long time, she felt alive and truly awake.

This beautiful land that she had longed to see again, she had finally found. She could see all that she remembered: the mountains, streams, meadows of Pelamar, and in the distance, gleaming in whatever light that world had, she guessed must be The Great West Lake. It was strange to think that none of this beauty was possible without the Veetacore and to think, she and her friends had, what seemed like many years ago, helped to save this entire land from ruin.

For just a few moments, all Jenny could do was take in the beauty, feel the gentle breeze, close her eyes, and pinch herself just to make sure it was not all a dream. For so long she had dreamed of this place, day and night she had looked for a way to come back, and now it had happened...but what next?

Jenny suddenly thought... _I’m all alone._

Her eyes widened in alarm as she realised that this time, there was nobody with her. 

The last time she was here, she had been with Scott and Amanda...and of course, Gorwen the Dragon had been their guide. That time, she had not been alone for a minute, but now...now she had arrived back in a place that, quite frankly, she did not know at all. She had, last time only spent two nights in Pelamar, and had been grounded to the Veetacore house with Doris and Morris. She and her friends had never really gotten to know Pelamar at all...yet here she was, and Pelamar was, she noticed, completely different!

Last time, the whole land was troubled and upset, facing certain death if she and her friends had not acted quickly. Over the short time she was there, the whole place was slowly but surely turning into a dark, desolate and barren wasteland. 

But now it was different, now it was changed, now it was beautiful, so obviously the Veetacore was still together and doing its job just fine...so why was she so scared?

She suddenly thought... _It’s been fourteen years in my world since I was here, I have aged fourteen years, I was eleven, and now I’m twenty-five...has it been the same amount of time that has passed here or…_

Jenny then remembered the series of books she had read about some children who visited a world similar to the one she was in, the place in the stories was called Narnia. The children visited that particular world, then came back home at the same time they left...and that was exactly what had happened with herself and her friends, they had left Pelamar and arrived back at school in time for dinner. 

The children in the Narnia books travelled back to Narnia after being in their world for no longer than a year and found that hundreds, sometimes a thousand or more years had passed and the people they had known in their last adventure had either been dead for a long time or else were very old!

Jenny began to worry...then panic!

What if Pelamar was _exactly_ like Narnia? What if many many Pelamot years had passed since she had last been here? What if...and this was the most horrible thought that came to mind...what if Doris, Boris and Morris were either very old and no longer the Keepers or even worse, long dead?

What was she going to do? Why had she not thought of this before? Her throat suddenly became dry and she found herself struggling to breathe? She lost her footing and ended up on all fours as she became more and more afraid. Her heart pounding in her chest...oh no...she could feel a panic attack coming on...and she did not have a paper bag to breathe into. 

She never thought of trying the coping mechanisms she had been taught when having an attack...because really, how the hell was that going to help? 

She was in _another world_ for goodness sake, there was nobody there to help her, oh why had she been so foolish as to think this was where she belonged? How could she have been so stupid? 

Even though she was in the middle of nowhere and no one was about, Jenny could not help but stutter the words, “Help me, someone!” But of course, it was silly; there was nobody there and _nobody_ was coming to help!

Just as she thought she was going to suffocate and die. Jenny remembered her mini Veeton that was in her pocket, it seemed silly but it somehow occurred to her to get it out and hold it for a minute. 

In times of stress in her own world, holding her Veeton had helped her somewhat; would it help her now? 

Getting up awkwardly onto her knees, and feeling very ill, she reached into her coat pocket where she remembered putting it when she had magically been transported to this place just a few minutes ago. She felt it’s warmth as she touched it, she grasped it tight and suddenly felt the same warmth spreading up her arm, then through her whole body until she finally felt the strength to stand up again. 

She took out the beautiful sphere-shaped treasure and gazed at its beauty, even though it did not shine quite so brightly because the Sun (if Pelamar had a Sun) was out, it was still a thing of beauty. Jenny felt renewed strength after gazing at the Veeton for about five minutes and then felt able to walk further, to see if she could find someone, whether it be a person or animal who could help her and tell her where she could go.

For about half an hour, Jenny walked across the beautiful fields filled with flowers, not really knowing where she was going, but somehow getting the feeling her magic mini Veeton was guiding her, would she meet somebody soon? 

She remembered last time, after listening to Gorwen talking to her and her friends in the cave, politely explaining why he had called them from their world, he had flown them to the Veetacore house and it had not taken very long to get there at all. Though she had at the time presumed that had they gone on foot, it would have taken them a lot longer, and now, with no dragon to fly her anywhere, all she had were her own legs and her little magic comfort blanket. 

How much power such a small thing possessed she had no idea, but she knew it was helping her, it was making the long walk far more bearable. 

As she walked, Jenny suddenly thought of Gorwen. She wondered why he had suddenly vanished from the mural just seconds before she was transported from her world into Pelamar. Was he still around? Was he still alive? 

Was he aware that she was there and simply watching her from his cave, just like the way he had, last time, shown them images of the Veetacore and the Keepers, simply by breathing fire into the little pool and showing them moving pictures, like a video, she remembered Scott had said.

Jenny began to think of many things as she continued her way through the beautiful fields that seemed to have different coloured flowers in each one she came to.

Not for the first time since leaving Pelamar and thinking more of it, she realised she had so many questions, such as why the realm needed something like the Veetacore to keep it alive and thriving. Her world did not need such a thing because they had the Sun, oxygen, water and many other natural things that sustained them. 

She looked up at the sky, trying to find the Pelamot Sun. She could see something bright and dazzling that she had to quickly turn her eyes away from, but could not quite tell if it was a star just like her own world’s Sun. Maybe it was something else that was not quite adequate to keep the planet alive...hence the need for the Veetacore...perhaps...there was no way of knowing until she asked someone.

She had to ask about this as soon as she met a person or animal who was friendly enough, be it Gorwen, Rodey the mouse, one of the Keepers or someone else entirely. She knew she had to ask because she was intrigued, and had often wondered why she and her friends had never thought of asking this question before. She was quite sure had they asked Gorwen this in the first place, he would have been able to tell them. 

Then again, they were just children at the time, and Pelamar had been in crisis, and so asking questions and having them answered had not been a priority, plus, once Charn had turned up, she was too scared to say anything very much...then once they had finally mended the Veetacore and put all to rights...they had been whisked back into their world, to England. Jenny had not been happy about this, but that was just the way it had been, and now she was back, so she was not leaving again without having her questions answered. 

Questions such as why the place needed a Veetacore when her world did not, why this Veetacore was kept indoors, how in the name of all that was good was it able to keep an entire country...or maybe that entire world, alive and thriving. 

The biggest question of all she had was why, as soon as they had mended the Veetacore, had she and her friends immediately and...quite blatantly in her opinion, been sent straight back into their world, back to school, as though they did not matter. Why had they been used like this? 

Well, the answer to that was obvious, because no one in Pelamar could read as Gorwen had said, but there were telltale signs that _someone somewhere_ in that realm - besides the Widgets - could read and write. 

There had been signs with words all around the Veetacore house, and she remembered Amanda pointing out, that on their way to Widge, when taking food out of Boris’ rucksack, the packages with the food in all had labels telling them what foods they were, such as peanuts, dates, strawberries, sugar and salt. Jenny smiled as she remembered the funny thing Amanda had told her, about Boris. 

Amanda had recalled that because he was unable to read, had dipped a strawberry into salt instead of sugar, and spat the strawberry straight out again because of the horrible taste.

The fact was, _someone_ had written those labels on the food, and if it was not the Keepers or anyone from Pelamar, then who? Maybe certain people _could_ read, but maybe it was rare, maybe there was just a handful who knew how to read, and maybe it was expensive to learn...or something like that.

She smiled as she thought of the good times she had with her two friends, who she had sadly drifted apart from in recent years.

Jenny walked to the end of another pretty field until she came to a style, so obviously this realm had many things that they had back at home in England, and that included technology, though unlike at home, Pelamots had videophones, she remembered.

As she climbed over the style, she wondered what other things they had in Pelamar. What kind of civilisation was it?

As she remembered Gorwen telling them all those years ago, there were many creatures in Pelamar, all able to fly and grow large or small. She _had_ to find out more!

After Jenny had climbed over the style, now clutching her little Veeton in her _left_ hand where previously it had been in her right, she came to a beautiful tree with large, bright green shiny leaves. It looked similar to the trees back home but she noticed many large, brown fruits...if they _were_ fruits...but they looked like coconuts or large kiwi fruits the size of a coconut...or maybe something large related to the acorn hanging from it. Jenny was quite sure she would not find a tree like that in England, coconut trees certainly did not look like that. 

She wondered what kind of fruit or nut it was, but it seemed like too much work to pick one and take a look, and her priority right now was either finding someone to talk to or finding the Veetacore house...preferably with the Keepers from last time...then she remembered!

If her life was anything like the lives of the children from The Chronicles of Narnia, chances were, even though only fourteen years had passed in England and she had only aged fourteen years, then how long had passed in Pelamar? She felt like she was living in a real-life fantasy story, with herself as the main character...then again...life was _not_ a fairy tale or fantasy story. She had certainly _not_ had fairy tale things happen to her since she last left this place...maybe Pelamar was nothing like Narnia. Maybe the same amount of time had passed and if so, Doris would not be all _that old._

She tried to think about how old Doris was when she first met her, she had been relatively young, Jenny seemed to remember, certainly no older than thirty, maybe even younger. 

Jenny remembered how pretty she was, but when discussing her with Amanda and Scott in later years, she realised that she was the only one who thought so. Amanda had described her as ‘gawky’ with those glasses and that haircut, and Scott had been pretty indifferent, but then Scott had come out gay not long after that...so there was no competition with those two. 

Amanda was bisexual, and at one time had wanted to date Jenny, but Jenny never thought about her in that way.

Jenny sighed as she left the pretty tree with the strange fruits and carried on in her search for answers. Heading through a gate beside a large stone wall that blocked the view on the other side.

When she came out on the other side, she came to another beautiful meadow which was more hilly than the places she had walked so far, there was a pathway to follow which seemed to go on forever. She was grateful that she felt so full of energy thanks to her Veeton she still firmly grasped in her hand _and_ that the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, but she really hoped that she would not be alone for too much longer. All she could do as it stood, was to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Jenny walked along the hills, hoping to be able to see some building that might mean there would be someone to ask for help, but while she had her Veeton in her hand, it seemed difficult if not impossible to feel afraid or worried. She felt in her heart that she was going the right way. On the horizon she could see birds flying, she could hear the sound of birds in the distance. She looked to her right and The Great West Lake could still be seen, glistening in the distance, it looked beautiful. To think that last time, she had heard that the lake had been a ‘High Fade Zone’ and that everything there was dead, according to Rodey mouse. Looking at its shining waters now, she could not imagine that still being the case. 

After Jenny had been walking for about another twenty-five minutes, according to her watch that was still set to English time - she had no idea what time it was in Pelamar - she suddenly felt the Veeton in her hand vibrate gently. She looked at it and she could see it flashing brightly, and for some reason, she got the feeling it was flashing because it was happy. Why was this? 

At the time this was happening, she was walking up a steep hill, but walking up it was not making her tired in the least. As she was gazing at her glowing Veeton, she suddenly got the feeling that she would find something she needed to see as soon as she reached the top of that hill.

A large, moth-like creature with a green body and see-through wings suddenly appeared from the top of the hill. At first, Jenny was alarmed...but suddenly, she thought she recognised the creature. Its wings were see-through, but they had words on them printed in black!

The large winged creature was fluttering about too much for her to read all the words together, but there was a word on all four of its wings and she could make out two of them.

The words she saw were ‘Veetons’ and ‘touch’. 

And then she remembered, the creature was not a moth, he was a butterfly!

This butterfly had almost been the cause of Pelamar’s demise, but he had saved them all just at the right second by bursting out of his cocoon and giving them just the right information needed for completing the Veetacore.

“FRUG!?” Jenny called out in excitement.

But if it _was_ Frug...then surely that would mean that very little time had passed in Pelamar since she left, if any had at all. After all, butterflies did not have a very long lifespan...at least not where she came from! Then again...this was another world and...Frug was a giant butterfly so…

Jenny found herself running, running up the hill without stopping, and without getting tired. What was she going to see? She felt as though her Veeton had a surprise for her!

She reached the top and was _not disappointed!_

What she saw when she got to the top made her heart leap with excitement, happiness...but also slight nerves. 

In the distance, perhaps another mile away but no more, a familiar white building loomed ahead. She remembered it as though it was yesterday. 

The Veetacore House!

It looked far more cheerful than it did last time, it had a cheerful, yellow glow of rays all around the roof. The building itself looked almost brand new. She _had_ to go and find out if her Keepers were still there, she _had_ to know what had happened since she left. 

Frug the giant butterfly suddenly fluttered past her, brushing her slightly with his large but delicate wings, flying ahead of her. Jenny ran after him for the rest of the way, holding her Veeton which she knew instinctively was the reason she was not tired or in need of water.

She ran and ran until she was a few metres outside the place. Frug had settled on the roof, he seemed to be watching her in his own, butterfly way. The doors and shutters were still the same as last time, and they were closed.

Who was inside? Was anyone inside?

The round window above the doors in the middle was glowing yellow, that surely meant all was well. Jenny breathed slowly in and out. Nervous or not, she had to gather up all her courage and knock. Her Veeton was glowing happily, it seemed to Jenny it was excited as she was...no...more so because it seemed to know what was on the other side of those doors. Jenny bravely walked to the doors of the house, her heart pounding, not knowing what she was feeling whether it was slight nerves or fear or apprehension over what she was about to do.

As she stopped just outside the double doors, she thought she heard someone talking on the other side. 

Desperately needing but part of her not wanting to know who it was, she knocked!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think of it so far? Are you keen to read more?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will the Veetacore Keepers believe Jenny when she tells them who she is?

_~_

I had a dream of you and I

A thousand stars lit up the sky

~

She waited, heart pounding, not quite knowing why she was feeling so scared. 

What did she have to be scared of? Even if they were not pleased to see her, what was the worst thing they would do...realistically...assuming it was still the same people?

Then she heard a voice coming from behind the door, a male voice, “Well who could it possibly be? Since no one except certain animals are allowed past the forcefield, and _they never_ knock on the door!”

_Forcefield?_ Jenny thought. _What’s all that about?_

Jenny nervously took a step back as one of the double doors opened and an orange man wearing an orange hoodie who she recognised immediately as Boris appeared, looking surprised and puzzled.

“Hi Boris,” Jenny said timidly without thinking.

Boris seemed creeped out by this...as of course, Jenny had been no more than a child last time she was here. His eyes widened and he looked taken aback, to say the least, as he clearly did not recognise her, Jenny cursed herself for having been so stupid. She noticed that he still looked just as young as he was last time...so how long exactly _had_ it been in Pelamar?

“Who...who are you?” he asked, his voice trembling a little but was still trying to show some authority; he was, after all, a Keeper of the life force. “And...more to the point, what are you doing here and how do you know my name? You...you shouldn’t be here at all...and...you don’t look like you’re from around here at all; you have no colour!”

“It’s...complicated,” Jenny replied nervously, and clutched hold of her Veeton, which once again, seemed to help her become more confident. “I know you think you don’t know me and I understand that, but I know you. We’ve met before, fourteen years ago...well...at least to me that’s how long it’s been.”

Boris gave her a weird look and shook his head, “I’m sorry I’ve never seen you before in my life, certainly not someone without any colour...well...until a few weeks ago that is.”

Jenny’s eyes widened and she felt her heart leap, “A few weeks ago?” she responded. “What happened a few weeks ago here?”

“I’m sorry I’m not prepared to discuss these matters with someone I don’t know,” the orange man responded, quite assertively but not unkindly. “I don’t even know where you are from or that I can even trust you!”

“Let me explain,” Jenny said, feeling more confident with each passing minute as she tightly grasped her Veeton. “My name’s Jenny, and I’m from another world. In the place I am from, it’s been fourteen years since I came here with my friends, Scott and Amanda. We helped you mend the Veetacore. You were unable to read so Gorwen asked us…”

“Wait...wait...stop!” Boris pleaded. “ _Fourteen years ago?_ I don’t think so! The Veetacore exploded only a matter of _weeks ago!_ Gorwen brought in _three children_ to help us...and you’re telling me that _you_ are _one_ of them?”

“I know it sounds hard to believe and _completely_ crazy!” Jenny said sympathetically. “But that’s exactly how it is and I can prove to you that…”

A woman’s voice that made Jenny’s heart race and butterflies flutter about in her tummy suddenly spoke from inside, “Boris who is it? Who are you talking to?”

The one person Jenny had longed to see for so long suddenly appeared at the door, and Jenny could hardly breathe and certainly could not talk anymore. 

Doris was even prettier than she remembered. She was still wearing the same glasses, and her purple hair that was slightly lighter than her skin had grown just a little longer and was more sleek, hanging over her shoulders and down her back. She was wearing a loose purple cardigan and what looked like a tight top underneath that, it showed just a little of her purple cleavage. Jenny began to have some not very clean thoughts pop into her mind. She scolded herself secretly; she knew she had to behave for now.

She tried her best not to take it personally or feel hurt when she could see that Doris was not particularly pleased to see her...just like last time, she remembered.

“I don’t know who you are but please go away,” the purple woman begged, sounding considerably politer than she had first been last time towards Jenny and her friends, and even Gorwen had struggled to win Doris round. “We don’t need any more trouble now, we’ve been in enough trouble since...what happened eight weeks ago and we’re only just getting back to normal again. We’ve been given one last chance and we’re not having anyone mess it up for us!”

“I haven’t come to cause trouble Doris I promise,” Jenny once again did not think.

“How do you know my name?” The purple Keeper looked as creeped out as Boris had been.

“She knows my name too!” Boris said suspiciously. “She could be some kind of spy!”

“I’m not a spy, I'm _Jenny, your Jenny, the Jenny._ I’m Jenny from the other world.”

“You’re lying!” Doris said with a look of complete distrust on her face. “Jenny was here to assist us in mending the Veetacore a mere _eight weeks_ ago and she was a child!”

“I know that, but time is obviously different here from in my own world!”

“Oh I can quite believe you’re from the same world as Jenny and the other two young ones,” Doris said looking at her bluntly, “but you tell me, why should I believe you and how do we know we can trust you?”

“What colour is the other keeper that’s inside?” Boris interjected suddenly. “And what’s his name?”

Jenny could see that Boris was prepared to test her and she appreciated him giving her the benefit of the doubt, “His name is Morris, and he’s green,” she replied immediately. Then she decided to add a little more knowledge, “He likes knitting, and he knitted me a scarf with the words _‘Help! Charn!’_ on it as a message!”

“How can you possibly know this?” Doris asked, clearly still not trusting her. “You could _still_ be a spy!”

“Ask me some more questions if you like,” Jenny offered. “I’ll be able to answer them.”

“What’s the name of the white mouse who helped us in our quest?” Boris asked her, causing Doris to give her fellow Keeper a look of disbelief.

“Rodey!” Jenny answered immediately. “He was very cute if a little blunt!”

“What’s the name of Morris’ pet butterfly?” Doris asked her, deciding she may as well join in.

“Frug,” Jenny answered with a shrug of her shoulders, “I saw him on the way here actually, and I remember the names of his other pets too, Frista and Frenny. One’s a tortoise, the other’s a giant snail.”

“Wow you really do know a lot,” Boris said, astonished.

“It still doesn’t mean she is who she says she is!” Doris pointed out. “She could still be a spy...I hear some of Charn’s followers have been released from prison; she could be one of them...and why in the name of all that is good haven’t we got our weapons to defend ourselves with?”

“But how could she get here?” Boris asked Doris. “Remember there are wards protecting this place from people like that; no one can get in within a...twenty mile radius...I think...something like that, and not all of his followers are out, just the less dangerous ones...and besides, Charn is dead, so they have no one to lead them and none of them were really all that strong without him.”

“I never knew Charn had followers,” Jenny said, feeling intrigued. “What sort of people were they?”

“Oh, mostly stupid people,” Boris answered with a shrug. “But some of them far worse than others, they killed the last Keepers who were here before us...that’s the only reason we’re here now I suppose, because there were three vacancies and everyone else was too scared to apply.”

Just then, A green man appeared at the door, and Jenny recognised him as Morris. This time, Jenny decided she may as well talk to him as she had the other two, “Hello Morris,” she said in a friendly voice, as though they had been friends for years.

Morris looked at her with a worried expression, “Do we have to talk about Charn?” He pleaded, then looking at Jenny he asked, “Who are you?”

“She claims to be Jenny,” Doris quickly said before Jenny could answer. “We’re trying to get rid of her because we’re worried she may be a spy.”

“But how did she get here?” The green Keeper asked. “How did she get past the magical wards protecting us?”

“I got here from the same way I did last time,” Jenny explained. “Through the mural my friends and I painted years ago...well years ago to us anyway. Except that this time I was not with Gorwen or Scott and Amanda. I got here by myself. Using this…”

Jenny held up her mini-Veeton for them all to see. It was glowing brightly and happily.

The three Keepers opened their eyes wide in wonderment; it looked to them as part of the Veetacore, made exactly of the same material.

“Where did you get that?” Morris asked. “It looks like a tiny Veeton!”

“It _is_ a tiny Veeton...or so I assume that’s what it is,” Jenny said, smiling. “When we left this place last time, Gorwen gave my friends and me one each, and at the time, I thought they were just gifts, mementos, we all did.”

“Do you think he gave them to you so that you could come back?” Doris asked her.

“I believe so yes,” Jenny said with a nod. “Though for a long time, I didn’t know they were the key to returning, but I had always wanted to. Scott and Amanda seem to have moved on with their lives, they still think they were only souvenirs. For a time, I thought so too.”

“Maybe we should invite her in,” Boris suggested. “We can’t be seen talking to her at the door; even some of the animals can’t be trusted around here.”

“But we still don’t know for sure that she is who she says she is!” Doris said, concerned.

“That’s right,” Morris agreed. “How can we trust her?”

“The Veetacore will soon know if she’s lying,” Boris suggested.

“What do you mean?” Jenny asked half intrigued, half suspicious.

“Of course,” Morris said with a smile. “Then if she’s lying about who she is, then we can decide what to do with her.”

“I can even recite the spell in the book,” Jenny stated, desperately trying to find a way to prove she was _their_ Jenny, as she was worried about what Boris had said about the Veetacore. She was afraid they may put her through something painful...or scary. Then again...quite a few painful and pretty scary things had happened to her in the years after leaving Pelamar, so a little bit more would not hurt...surely.

“What spell in what book?” Doris asked her impatiently.

“The Book of the Veetacore of course!” Jenny replied, feeling slightly annoyed. “Remember the spell you chanted when you put the last Veeton in its place? How on Earth could you forget?”

After saying ‘How on Earth’, Jenny remembered she was not ‘on Earth’, however, none of the Keepers said anything about that.

“Of course, _that_ book!” Doris acknowledged. “Yes, sorry.”

“And the spell goes like this,” Jenny started to say the words, _“Power of good, spread near and far, power of good, give life to…”_

But then Doris interrupted her abruptly, “Yes we know how the spell goes!” She snapped, with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. 

Jenny, once again, tried not to feel hurt or take Doris’s attitude too personally, after all, she could still remember the purple Keeper’s first-ever words to her and her friends, as well as Gorwen, The words, _‘How dare you come in here’_ sprung to mind all of a sudden.

“Oh don’t be like that Doris,” Morris pleaded. “Jenny’s just trying to prove herself that’s all.”

“Oh, so you really do believe that she really is _our Jenny_ ?” Doris retorted. “And _she_ expects us to just believe what comes out of her mouth? That’s exactly how Charn used to get people wrapped around his little finger, with his lies!”

“You’re comparing her to Charn?” Boris questioned the purple Keeper, with a look of disbelief. Jenny also looked at Morris, who looked as though he was holding back tears.

“Yes, yes I am!” Doris responded bluntly, staring Jenny straight in the face. “He used to be exactly the same colour as you...no...what do I mean? You don’t even _have_ colour!”

“That’s not nice Doris,” Jenny could feel a lump in her throat, but was determined not to cry, however, she was heartbroken that the woman she had adored for so long suspected her of being as evil as Charn had been.”

“Why don’t we take a vote on it?” Boris quickly asked.

“A vote?” Doris scoffed.

“Yeah,” Boris nodded. “Like we always do when we can’t agree on something or aren’t quite sure what to do.”

“What do you suggest?” Morris asked.

“I vote that we bring her in, and have her take a lie detector test!” Boris stated. “Then we’ll know for sure if she’s genuine.”

“What do you think Doris?” Morris asked. “Do you think we should try that?”

Doris said nothing, and Jenny could tell she was not happy and seemed quite sulky.

“I think you’re right Boris,” Morris smiled, and Jenny thought he looked at the orange Keeper lovingly...surely not.

“Thank you so much you two,” Jenny said with a grateful smile.

“Looks like you’re outvoted Doris,” Boris told the purple Keeper.

Doris looked put out; all she could say was, “Well, _get on with it then!”_ Before storming off inside.

Jenny seemed to remember her saying those words once before in that passive-aggressive manner. She was determined now to win over the purple Keeper as she had done before, and then maybe...hopefully…

She was suddenly taken out of her, ‘not so innocent’ train of thought by Boris, who said, “Come on Jenny...if that _is_ your real name, come inside and prove yourself!”

Jenny smiled, although she probably had a way to go before she would get anywhere with Doris, once again, the two male Keepers proved to be a soft touch.

It was a step in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, the song lyrics you see at the beginning of each chapter are from a song the same name as this story and are in fact the inspiration for this story title, the song is by Blackmore's Night and you can hear it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5qlBi79svI


	4. Chapter 4

~

I touched your hand and you were gone

But memories of you live on...

~

The Veetacore House had not changed at all since Jenny was last here. Well, she supposed if it had only been eight weeks, then why should it? The place still had very little decoration in it, just a table and chairs next to one of the windows, green cupboards, a stone wall and stone floor. There was also a sofa, a rocking chair that she only remembered Morris ever sitting in to knit or cuddle a pet, and it also had that beautiful fragrance from last time, a lovely mix of what smelled like lavender and herbs. It was almost as if she had been here yesterday.

The only real difference was the Veetacore, that stood majestically at the opposite end of the room, as though no harm had ever come to it. 

It was a large, yellow, hexagon-shaped implement made of twenty-five smaller bits, and it dominated the place. Yet Jenny still could not understand how something kept indoors could sustain such a large area of land...a whole country at least. She supposed there would be time to ask questions later if the Keepers were willing to answer them... _and_ if they did not decide to send her away, which she still feared they might.

“So what is your life like when the Veetacore ‘hasn’t exploded’?” She asked with a touch of humour.

“Well...it doesn’t normally explode,” Morris chuckled.

“What do you care about our lives?” a voice said from behind her. It was Doris, sitting at the table next to the window.

“Maybe if we get this lie detector thing done,” Boris suggested. “Then maybe Doris, you won’t be so snappy.”

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything else, Jenny’s little round Veeton that she was still holding tightly in her hand, vibrated so hard and so suddenly that she let it go with a small squeal of surprise. 

Instead of falling to the floor, it started floating in the air, astonishing everyone in the room. It glowed in a pretty, yellow light as it floated its way towards the Veetacore. 

It stopped and hovered around it for a minute, like a bee next to a flower. 

The four of them watched as the Veetacore lit up a little brighter than it had been before, it almost looked like it was pleased to see the little shiny ball, like a mother who had been missing her child. 

The mini Veeton then hovered over the top of the Veetacore, where it then seemed to settle, just hovering and floating above it. All of them got a sense that somehow, the mini-Veeton was happy to be where it was and that the Veetacore was somehow happier than it had ever been in a long time. How they felt this, none of them knew, but it was almost as if that pretty object that had been in Jenny’s possession all these years was happy to finally be home.

For a few minutes, they all forgot what they were supposed to be doing. None of them could believe or understand what had actually happened, but soon they were taken out of their trance when they realised that this unexpected occurrence was somehow a good thing and no threat to them at all.

Then they remembered, they were going to do a lie detector test on Jenny.

“What do I have to do?” Jenny asked. “Does it hurt?”

“No, of course it doesn’t hurt,” Morris reassured her. “I don’t feel like we need to do it anyway because...I can kind of sense that you are so genuine!”

“We still shouldn’t trust people so easily,” Doris said abruptly, making her way towards Jenny. 

The purple Keeper grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards the Veetacore.

“Which is your dominant hand?” Doris asked her.

“My right hand,” Jenny replied.

“Place it over the square Veeton in the middle,” the purple Keeper instructed her. 

Jenny did as she was asked.

“We’re going to ask you a series of questions,” Doris told her with an air of authority. “If you lie, the Veetacore will darken and turn red, if you are telling the truth, it will glow an even brighter yellow. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Yes,” Jenny said immediately. She had nothing to hide and nothing to lie about. 

The Veetacore immediately glowed yellow.

“She’s just told the truth,” Boris said with a smile. “I think she’s going to pass this test.”

Jenny suddenly got the feeling this was going to be fun.

“We’ll see about that,” said Doris, raising her eyebrows.

Jenny instinctively got the feeling that the purple Keeper was trying not to show that she was also beginning to have fun.

“What is your real name?” Doris asked. “And trust, me, you can’t fool the Veetacore; it knows.”

“My name is Jenny Page,” Jenny replied immediately.

The Veetacore glowed brightly again.

Doris looked at the other two Keepers, who smiled at her, and Boris added with a chuckle, “I’ve always wanted another excuse to do the lie thing again.”

“And how old exactly do you say you are?” Doris continued.

“I’m twenty-five,” Jenny replied.

Again, the Veetacore glowed happily.

“And what is the real reason for your visit here today?” Doris asked.

Jenny had to think for a minute, then replied, “It’s...kind of complicated to explain.

Surprisingly, the Veetacore glowed again.

“Try to explain,” Doris requested. “In your own time.”

“Well...I...I’ve been through quite a lot in the years since I was here last,” Jenny began. “And for years I’ve been dreaming about this place, and I felt that something was calling me back here, though it’s hard to explain exactly what.”

The Veetacore glowed, and the three Keepers looked at each other, even Doris, wary of Jenny as she still was, seemed intrigued, but Jenny supposed it was partly because so far, the Veetacore could detect no lie from her yet. Not that Jenny intended to lie.

“So...you really _have_ been here before?” Doris asked.

“Yes, absolutely I have,” Jenny responded.

The Veetacore glowed again, wow, this thing was good. Jenny was beginning to enjoy herself, _They’ll have to believe me now!”_ She thought.

“And you have met _us_ before as you say you have?” Doris asked.

“Yes,” Jenny said, and she couldn’t help but smile. Doris’ no-nonsense ways were not putting her off in the least, in fact, it was having the opposite effect with Jenny. The Veetacore glowed again.

_She’s so damn hot!_ Jenny thought.

“But how can this be?” Doris asked her. “As you are now, I’ve never seen you before. Are you really the same Jenny who helped us read the book, defeat Charn and mend the Veetacore?”

“Yes, I am!” Jenny said.

Doris, Boris and Morris all looked in astonishment when the Veetacore confirmed that once again, Jenny had told the truth.

“But how is it possible?” Doris asked. “It really was just a few weeks ago, seems only yesterday. You can’t become a woman in that short amount of time!”

“Again, I can’t explain that,” Jenny said truthfully. “All I know is, I went back to my own world, everything went back to normal for me, and for fourteen years, I lived a pretty much normal life until today...well...whatever normal is...I just don’t know. A lot happened to me in those years, some good, some bad, but nothing magical ever happened until today.”

The Veetacore glowed again, and none of the Keepers could believe it, but Jenny was telling the truth.

“Can I ask a question?” Boris said mischievously.

“Sure,” Jenny said, smiling. “Ask away, this should be fun.”

“We’re really not here to play games you know,” Doris pointed out, looking strict, but soon gave in, “go on then!”

“So out of interest,” Boris began. “If you really were one of the children who helped save Pelamar, then you should be able to answer this, you see, I was in Widge with Amanda and Scott, you stayed here with these two right, so...which of them did you get on with the most?”

“Honestly Boris is that important?” Doris said in disbelief.

“Well I can answer if you like,” Jenny said with a shrug. “At first, it was definitely Morris, he was sweet and friendly and I loved the way he took care of his pets, whereas you Doris, as much as I grew to like you later on, you were so difficult at first, you wouldn’t let me see the book, you thought you could work it out all by yourself. But then I managed to win you round, and you were brilliant after that. The truth is, I got on with both of them Boris, and to this day I still feel great affection for them.” 

The Veetacore glowed again.

“Naaaaw!” Boris looked at Morris, Jenny noticed with that loving look she had seen Morris give to him earlier...and she wondered…

“Well...since Boris is going to ask silly questions,” Doris said huffily, “I may as well ask you a silly one of my own. I’m sorry but to be honest, I’ve been wanting to know this since...well since I saw you at the door.”

Jenny noticed Doris’ purple face turn a slight shade of pink, “Go on then Doris,” she encouraged. “What do you want to ask me? This is fun, ask anything you want.”

“I don’t know...I shouldn’t really it’s…” Doris trailed off, almost as though she was afraid to say it...and Jenny wondered if part of her did not want to know the answer.

“Oh go on Doris,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s rude, I’m open for anything.”

“I think we’ve finished this enquiry,” Doris said quickly. “Jenny, it looks as though you’ve passed with flying colours, you’re free to take your hand away if you want to.”

“Oh for goodness sake Doris!” Boris blurted out. “Just get it over with, just ask her if she likes girls!”

The whole room went silent!


	5. Chapter 5

_~_

You looked into my eyes

You had me hypnotised and

I can still remember you...

Those moments spent together promising forever and

I can still remember you

~

Jenny’s heart skipped a beat at hearing these words. Did this mean that being gay was a thing in Pelamar too? Yet why had Boris said such a thing? Had she been making it too visible about how she felt about Doris?

“Boris, _how dare you?!”_ Doris exclaimed in disbelief. “How could you just come right out and say such a thing?”

“You’re unbelievable Boris,” Morris agreed.

“Oh come on Doris,” Boris scoffed. “You’ve been single forever, making out you were happy that way when _I’m_ sure you weren’t, then Jenny comes along and…”

“And _shut up!”_ Doris raged.

“Do _you_ like girls then Doris?” Jenny could not help but ask. “Is being gay a thing here too?”

“Being _what?”_ Morris queried, looking confused.

“I mean being attracted to your own sex rather than the opposite,” Jenny explained.

“Well, of course,” Morris confirmed. “But I didn’t know it had a name.”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Jenny said gloomily. “Well...in my world, at least.”

“So...come on Jenny,” Boris piped up. “Do you like girls or not?”

Then Jenny decided to have a bit of fun, just to see if they had been right about the Veetacore knowing a lie, she placed her hand back on the middle square Veeton and said, “No I don’t, I came here for the sole purpose of having a threesome with the two male Keepers!”

Jenny said this with a wink, but she was a little unsure whether the three of them knew what she meant by a ‘threesome.’ Still, they all had blank expressions on their faces, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red, glowing light...and then she suddenly had to take her hand away because the Veetacore suddenly became very hot, burning her, “OUCH!” She screamed.

“So that was a lie then,” Morris said, calmly looking at the other two.

“I...I thought you said it wouldn’t hurt!” Jenny stammered, grasping her right hand tightly. “I need to...put my hand under some...cold water.”

“Sorry, we forgot to warn you about that,” Boris said, looking awkward.

“Yes...so sorry Jenny,” Morris came over to her when he saw that she was crying a little with the pain, he helped her up. “Yes in all the excitement we sort of...forgot to warn you that it would get very hot...I don’t think it was so much the lie; I think it was more the crudeness of what you just said.”

The other two Keepers looked as though they felt really bad for Jenny. Morris put his arm around her, led her to a sink, turned on the cold tap, and made her keep her burnt hand under it, “I’m...so sorry,” Jenny sobbed. “I’m not normally...so vulgar…”

“It’s okay honey,” Morris said soothingly. “I’ve heard far worse things.”

“You okay Jenny?” Boris asked, a look of concern on his face.

“I will be in a minute, I’m sure,” Jenny smiled while wiping the tears away with her good hand. “Serves me right, I suppose.”

“I think that’s enough questions for today,” Doris announced, also looking awkward about what had just happened. “Maybe we should have warned you, but in all honesty, we all thought you would tell the truth from start to finish.”

“Well, she did,” Morris said, rubbing Jenny’s arm gently because he could see she had not yet stopped crying. “She just decided to have a bit of fun, and it backfired.”

“I think Jenny that if you had said something a bit less…” Doris began, not knowing what word to use, so Boris finished the sentence…

“Impolite, less rude,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yes, that,” Doris confirmed. “If you had said something like, ‘I came here to marry one of the male Keepers’, you would most probably have got away with it just glowing red and nothing else, but...well...the Veetacore is quite…”

“Sensitive to taboo subjects,” Morris finished her sentence again. “Boris actually told it the truth about something a few years ago didn’t you honey, and he got his hand burned too because the Veetacore didn’t like his answer, even though it was the truth.”

Jenny lifted her head after hearing Morris call Boris ‘honey’, but said nothing

“Yeah, kind of embarrassing that,” Boris looked awkward. “Don’t go there.”

“So the Veetacore is a bit of a prude?” Jenny asked, intrigued now the cold water was beginning to do its job.

“No, not really,” Doris replied. “It doesn’t have a problem with people talking about adult things, the facts of life and stuff like that, I think it’s more if it feels like you are saying something abusive.”

“But I never meant it to be abusive,” Jenny said regretfully. “It really was just a joke, and besides, you two are really not my type at all, and, for the record, you might as well know that yes, I am a lesbian, I am into girls, I’ve never liked men at all so no I’m not into Boris and Morris.”

“The Veetacore doesn’t like immoral talk even if it’s just a joke,” Doris stressed. “You will have to apologise to it before night falls, or your hand will get worse, not better.”

_“Sorry!”_ Jenny looked in the Veetacore’s direction as she said this.

“No, not like that,” said Doris, shaking her head. “You must put your hand on it again and say a special apology, the words of the amendment.”

“What?” Jenny replied in disbelief.

“The Veetacore won’t forgive you unless you do,” Morris stated. “It _is_ very forgiving, but you have to let it know you’re sorry.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Boris added. “The Veetacore is very forgiving, but the thing is, our Veetacore is all about love, kindness, compassion, gentleness, not to mention good morals, it doesn’t want to hear about threesomes, masturbation, abuse of any kind...you name it, it doesn’t want to know, so don’t ever talk about such things while you have your hand on it.”

“It’s not exactly a living source in an obvious way,” Doris told her. “It can’t, for example, hear what we’re saying right now, just like it couldn’t hear you saying ‘sorry’ to it just now, it only gets you when you are touching it, it feels what’s in your heart, but is sensitive to certain words, certain subjects especially if it’s unnecessary for you to say them. That’s why you must chant a special spell before tonight; if you don’t, well...your poor hand will most likely become disfigured.”

“Then I’ll do it,” said Jenny, still in shock from the pain. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Don’t worry,” said Boris. “It’s only a simple spell and it’s easy to say. I had to say it and the Veetacore forgave me straight away. I also want to apologise to you Jenny, for not telling you straight away how volatile the Veetacore can be.”

“We’d all like to apologise,” Doris added.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Jenny told them. “It’s my mess now and I need to fix it. What is this spell of amendment?”

  
  


***

  
  
Sitting at the table next to the window, Jenny held a cold, wet cloth around her burnt hand, and Morris had managed to find her a bowl of ice cubes too, which she so desperately needed. 

The Keepers had been right about her injury; instead of getting better, it was getting worse. She did not dare to unwrap it or look at it anymore because after she had removed it from the running tap, her skin had been starting to peel off. This was normal with a severe burn, but this was the worst burn she had ever experienced; even keeping it in ice and covered in a wet cloth, her hand was starting to swell.

She had _The Book of the Veetacore_ right in front of her and apparently, The spell of the Amendment was in there. 

Last time, she had very little time to have a good look through it, partly because back then, she was not the best reader and the amount of content in it had been intimidating to her, but mostly because her priority had been finding out which Veetons go where. However, this time she discovered that there was so much more in the book, and what a fascinating read it was going to be. She had not even looked at half of it yet. 

The Keepers were more than happy to let her look through since they were unable to read anyway. They had told her that the spell she needed to recite was also in the back of the book. She turned to it and found it almost immediately.

Here is what she read:

_The spell of the Amendment:_

_If a Keeper or any other being has spoken abominable words while touching the middle square Veeton, they must, if they do not wish to be crippled for life, place their injured hand back onto the square._

_They must close their eyes and recite the following:_

_I (name), beg now for the forgiveness of my offensive words so that my wounds may heal, and I may go on to live a carefree and painless life with a pure heart and clean mind._

_Veetacore, you were not responsible for hurting me, I chose to hurt myself by offending you._

_Forgive me now, heal my pain, and I promise on my own life that I will never offend you again. For if I do, may I die in shame, which will be no more than I deserve._

_Thank you for giving me a second chance._

“Goodness me it’s quite a long spell!” Jenny exclaimed. “Do I really have to recite all that?”

“You are lucky you can read,” Boris pointed out. “I had to listen to a recording of the spell.”

“It just seems so harsh and unfair that I have to do this over a harmless joke!” Jenny sighed. 

“Well, you’ll know not to do it again,” said Doris. “You have a few hours to memorise it before it gets dark, it’s a shame you can’t look at the book and read it while saying it, but you have to have your eyes closed.”

“I’d better practice it then,” Jenny sighed. “Do you have a piece of paper I can write it on? That way I can break it up and learn it bit by bit.”

“Luckily yes I think we do,” Morris said, crossing the room to one of the drawers. “Boris does a lot of drawing in his spare time...well we all do sometimes.

The green Keeper opened the drawer and took out a few sheets of plain paper, it was for drawing rather than writing, but then Pelamots could not read or write. True, the three had all tried to learn a few words in the time Jenny had been here with Scott and Amanda, but very little, and they had forgotten it since.

Jenny took a sheet of the paper Morris put on the table and with a pencil, even though it was awkward with her injured right hand, and painful too, began to break up the spell into more manageable bits.

She then spent the next three hours reciting the first part, then when she could remember that she added the next bit, and so on until she was sure she could remember it word for word, then she told the Keepers that she thought she was ready.

“Whenever you like,” Doris said casually, looking up from where she was sitting on the sofa, cross-stitching. “You’re lucky it’s the start of summer so it takes longer to get dark.”

“Will you three come and listen?” she asked.

“It’s best we don’t,” Boris told her. “This is a personal thing you need to do in your own time.”

“Yes it may be able to sense there are other people around you,” Morris added. “That may look as though you are being forced to say the spell and that you aren’t genuinely sorry.”

“To be honest I’m not sure I am genuinely sorry,” said Jenny bluntly. “It was just a silly joke and I’m only doing it because I want my hand to write with and I don’t have a choice.”

“I get you,” Boris sympathised. “I made a joke too...well...not a joke...I was just a bit too...honest about something.”

“Partly my fault, but we won’t go into that now,” Morris said before he went back to knitting what looked like just a small project. 

Jenny was curious about what the green Keeper had just said, she was curious about a lot of things, but now was not the time.

“Right,” she said, sighing. Her heart was pounding a little with nerves because she did not want to mess this up; she wanted her right hand back.

As she approached the Veetacore, she unwrapped the wet cloth from her hand. As she did so, she began to feel it burning again, so Jenny held on to it tightly until she approached the large, yellow life-force.

Jenny recited the words in her head one last time, she was lucky because she was good at remembering things if she said them often enough, and that was all Jenny had been doing for all that...afternoon? 

She thought it felt like the afternoon, but she had no idea really what time it was there, come to think of it, when she had left her world, it had been early evening. It occurred to her that when she arrived in Pelamar, it was earlier in the day.

She put all that out of her mind for the time being, trying to concentrate on what she was here for at this present time.

She breathed in slowly, then out again, placing her injured right hand onto the middle square Veeton. Luckily, it felt cool to the touch this time, making her still burning hand feel slightly better. 

She then closed her eyes, sighed and began to say the words:

_“I, Jenny, beg now for the forgiveness of my offensive words so that my wounds may heal.”_

She paused a little then continued, _“and I may go on to live a carefree and...painless life with a pure heart and a clean mind.”_

She had to pause a little because she could suddenly feel cooling waves against her hand. The Veetacore seemed to believe her words and was starting to heal her, but she knew she had to continue to the end, _“Veetacore you were not responsible for hurting me, I chose to hurt myself by offending you. Forgive me now, heal my pain, and I promise on my own life that I will never offend you again. For if I do, may I die in shame, which will be no le...more than I deserve.”_

Jenny made a face as she almost said the wrong word, ‘less’ instead of ‘more’, however, she did not let it stop her, _“Thank you for giving me a second chance.”_

After she said the final words, Jenny did not dare to open her eyes for a minute, but could feel the spell was working its magic; she felt the coolness the Veetacore was giving out to heal her hand until it felt ultimately better.

“I think you can open your eyes now, Jenny,” a voice said from behind her.

Jenny opened her eyes, feeling her heart skipping a beat and racing because the voice belonged to Doris, who was smiling. She looked happier than she had done when Jenny first arrived. “How do you feel?” Doris asked her.

“Fine,” Jenny said, smiling and looking into her eyes, then feeling herself blushing.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Boris called from the other side of the room. “I had to recite it three or four times before I got it right, _you_ got it all right straight away.”

“Well...I very nearly slipped up,” Jenny said awkwardly. “Almost said the wrong word.”

“Oh, it’s nothing trust me,” Boris reassured her. “The Veetacore knows what’s in your heart.”

“Then surely it would know I made a harmless joke,” Jenny said huffily. “That Veetacore needs a sense of humour maybe we should take it apart again and rewrite the ‘power of good’ spell.”

“I hope that was a joke,” Morris responded, rolling his eyes.

“Of course,” Jenny sighed and rolled her eyes. “We can’t go through all that palaver of mending it again can we!”

“Well,” said Doris, looking at Jenny matter of factly. “The next thing is of course to decide what’s to be done with you Jenny.”

“What do you mean?” Jenny asked, looking worried. “The Veetacore forgave me, you can’t punish me further.”

“No I didn’t mean about that,” Doris shook her head, then Jenny was sure the purple Keeper planned to say something else, but after looking thoughtful, Doris then said, “you must be hungry after travelling all this way, I’ll get you something to eat. It’s dinner time anyway.”

“Oh yeah me too I’m starving,” Boris said, getting up.

“Well set the table then Boris,” Doris ordered. “It’s my turn to cook today, Jenny come and help me in the kitchen.”

“I didn’t know this place had a kitchen,” Jenny said, feeling interested. “I’ve only ever seen the main part of it.”

“Oh yes you haven’t seen all of the Veetacore house,” Doris told her. “But then there wasn’t really time before was there, come on.”

Doris took her by the arm and led her through one of the doors that were on each side of the room, leaving Boris and Morris to set the table. The door led to a tiny passageway, which then led to another part that had several different doors down a small corridor, which Jenny assumed must be where they all slept. It was strange that last time, despite being very young and spending two nights there, she had hardly slept a wink.

The kitchen, like the main room of the house, had stone walls and windows with green frames, but despite it’s plainness, looked very quaint and had a certain character to it. It had a table in the middle and work counters all around, all the usual things Jenny would find in a kitchen in her world. She loved it. It reminded her of a real country kitchen, with vegetables and herbs hanging up here and there, and even a fridge.

“I hope you know how to use the kettle Jenny,” Doris said, not looking at her as she put a purple apron on. “Would you mind boiling some water and making a pot of tea?”

Jenny smiled, looking at how sexy the purple Keeper looked wearing an apron and taking things she needed out of drawers, “I’ve pretty much prepared what we’re having today, but I’m going to make a bit extra because we have a guest here. I hope you like jackfruit and pineapple burgers.”

“I’ll try anything once,” Jenny replied gratefully. “I’m not really a fussy eater, but I’ve never had jackfruit before, I don’t even know what it is.”

“Oh me and Boris love it,” she said, still not looking at her as she busily took a tray from one of the counters and placed it on the table. “Hopefully you will too, the recipe’s got really nice ingredients like onion, ginger and coriander. Oh and what else...oh I’m sure it’ll come back to me...oh yes I made a nice coleslaw to go with it…”

Doris did not say anything else for a few minutes as she busily rummaged about for everything she needed.

Jenny saw the kettle on the stove and proceeded to fill it at the kitchen sink.

She smiled, she had no idea what her plans were or how long exactly she would be allowed to stay here but Doris did not seem as keen to get rid of her as she had been when she first arrived. 

Jenny was loving this place already.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After eating, Jenny and the Keepers talk while getting drunk on Pelamade.

~

Do you ever think of me

And get lost in the memory

When you do, I hope you smile

And hold that memory a while...

~

It was evening, and Jenny felt she could not move because she had eaten so much. It had been a long time since she had eaten properly or enjoyed a meal quite like the one she had just had. She had never tasted jackfruit before, but certainly hoped that she would again some time.

The dessert had been even more amazing. Doris had made it herself, it was chocolate cake with sweet potato frosting. It had tasted so good that Jenny had ended up having second and third helpings before she was too full to eat any more.

She was sprawled out on the sofa, barely able to move. She had just about managed to help clear the table and take everything into the kitchen to be washed, which she would have helped to do but the Keepers insisted that tonight, she was a guest and would not be doing anything.

She had a plastic beaker full of Pelamade in her hand, the same Pelamade the Keepers had got out last time to celebrate mending the Veetacore.

Doris had placed the bottle in front of her and told her to drink as much of it as she liked, and she intended to.

She had barely had time to drink any last time she was in Pelamar. In fact, the cup had barely touched her lips before she had heard the dinner whistle that had called her and her friends back home. She did remember having just enough time to taste it and it was like no other drink she had ever tasted before. 

Now she was drinking it properly and could remember it like it was yesterday. It was a fizzy drink but was nothing like the soft drinks that she was used to drinking back home. She could also tell that it was alcoholic by the relaxed feeling it gave her. Even with a full stomach, the drink was going to her head. It was not only delicious but it smelled heavenly too. She tried to put her finger on what fruits she could taste in it. 

Mango? Passionfruit? She thought she could taste some kind of berry in it too, but whatever it had in it, Pelamade was the best drink she had ever had.

She still could not believe everything that had happened, that she was finally back in the place she had longed to be all her teenage years. She did not want to think of what was going to happen tomorrow, but it had already been decided that she must stay the night. Then tomorrow she could decide what she was going to do with herself. 

She did not wish to think of going home right now. In fact, she was starting to think she had come back here for a reason, that Pelamar was her real home and had been since she had first come here.

None of the Keepers seemed keen for her to leave, especially Doris for some reason, not that Jenny saw that as a bad thing. Doris was the one person she really wanted to see, the one she wanted to get to know.

Soon, the three Keepers joined her, Doris and Boris sitting with her on the sofa and Morris sitting in the rocking chair, but not before checking on his pets, then bringing two more bottles of ‘special pelamade’ over. Boris was as keen as Jenny to have a drink, Morris said he would just have a tiny bit, Doris filling hers just half full. 

Jenny had noticed at the table while they were eating, that the green Keeper did not eat nearly as much as everyone else did. He did not even finish his bowl of soup before he said he was full. Jenny hoped he was all right, but the other two did not make a big deal about it, and she did not wish to be nosey. Still, he was cheerful enough and joined in the talk with the rest of them.

“Do you cook delicious meals every day?” Jenny asked Doris.

“Of course not,” Doris replied. “We take it in turns, rotational so we each get four days a week to cook.”

“Are there enough days in the week for that?” Jenny asked. “I may be getting drunk but... pretty sure that didn’t make any sense.”

“Well...there are twelve days in a week so we get four days each,” Doris said with a shrug. “Makes perfect sense.”

“Wait...wait...what?” Jenny asked, confused. “What do you mean ‘twelve days’? A week only has seven days so how…” 

Then, drunk as she was, Jenny remembered she was not on planet Earth anymore, so the Pelamots could easily have more days in a week.

“Welcome to Pelamar,” Morris said with a chuckle. “You’re not even from our _world_ let alone our land, I am guessing your days and _probably_ months are different.”

“Yes I think they probably are,” Jenny acknowledged, dismissively waving her hand, then downing her last drop of Pelamade before cheekily filling it again.

“You’ve drunk too much of that haven’t you?” Boris pointed out. “Doris why encourage her?”

“Don’t know what you mean,” Doris said, looking away awkwardly. “I just put it in front of her and told her - _if she wanted -_ to drink as much of it as she liked...and why not? Her being here is a cause for celebration.”

“What I didn’t...realissse,” Jenny slurred. “I...diiiidn’t know Pelamade wassss alco...holic.”

“Well, why do you think I only filled it less than a quarter full last time?” Morris said calmly, but laughing a little.

“Sssshuppose I...never thought of that,” Jenny drawled. “It’sss not as if we had any time to drink it anyway...you sent us back home...back to school!”

“ _We_ didn’t send you back,” Morris said, shaking his head. Then he looked at Doris and Boris, “Did _we_ send Jenny and her friends back home?”

“Nope,” Boris said. “It would have been cool if you’d all stayed longer.”

“Yes definitely,” Doris agreed. “I was quite disappointed when I turned around and the three of you were gone.”

“Were you shocked?” Jenny asked before taking a huge swig from her beaker.

“Very,” Doris answered. “I asked Gorwen and Rodey where you had all gone, Rodey was just as puzzled as we were; Gorwen said he had reached his time allowance for you all.”

“What time allowance?” Jenny asked, feeling curious.

“That’s exactly what I asked him,” Doris replied with a shrug. “He said something about the magic he had used...I think he said the spell he conjured up was only _borrowed magic_ and it would only last a certain number of days, I asked if you three would ever be able to come back, he said he wouldn’t be allowed to perform the spell twice, but he had left you all something that would allow you to return when you were ready.”

“It must have been those little Veetons,” Jenny remarked, slouching and taking another swig of Pelamade. “I think I’m gonna regret this lovely drink tomorrow.”

“I asked if you all knew you could return,” Morris added. “And I asked if you would be able to stay longer next time. Gorwen just answered that sadly he didn’t have all the answers. Rodey seemed quite disappointed as well that you had all gone home so soon.”

“We all thought the little Veetons were just keepsakes or something,” Jenny said lazily. “We thought maybe they were just to prove it was all real.”

“When did you realise you could use it to return?” Boris asked.

“Only today,” Jenny answered. “Yeah…” She was finding that the Pelamade was letting her talk so much more freely. “I was sitting on my bed feeling sorry for myself, wondering why my life was such a mess and why the hell I was still breathing, then I was holding my Veeton and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe that was the key for returning.”

“Really?” Boris asked, looking concerned, in fact, all three of the Keepers were at that point. “Was it really that bad back at home?”

“Well, it wasn’t great,” Jenny answered with a shrug of her shoulders before taking another drop of her drink. “I had no job, my girlfriend decided she’d had enough of me...well...that's not a bad thing. I was relieved; it saved me having to break up with her, but I haven’t spoken to my mother in months because we’d had a big falling out. I was still adjusting to life out of the mental hospital, which I don’t feel I should have been in to begin with because I’m _not...mad_ ! _And..._ I had no idea what the _fuck_ to do with myself...oh and I’m not in contact with Amanda and Scott anymore by the way, so don’t ask if _they_ will ever come back... _fuck em!”_

The Keepers had no idea what to say.

“Wow!” Was all Boris could manage.

“Jenny, that's really sad,” Doris added after being silent for a few seconds.

“I can relate,” said Morris in a comforting tone.

“Me too,” said Doris. “I know what it’s like to feel...well...worthless, an outcast, like you have nothing left...hence why I ended up here.”

“Is that usually why people in this place end up as Veetacore Keepers?” Jenny asked, she really could not keep her mouth shut anymore. “Because they don’t know what else to do and have no life?”

“We _did_ have a life!” Doris laughed, but looked taken aback at the comment, then Jenny apologised.

“So sorry...I’m drunk, it came out all wrong,” Jenny gasped. “Maybe I need to sleep this off...or start drinking coffee.”

“Well in a way Jenny is right you have to admit it,” Boris pointed out. “Yes people apply for this job because they don’t know where their life is going.”

“Is it a life-long commitment?” Jenny asked.

“No, just twenty-five years,” Boris answered. “Us three so far have been here... _three...no...nearly four...I think?”_

“Coming up to four years yes,” Doris agreed. “I don’t regret it.”

“Me neither,” Morris also agreed. “And we only got in because no-one else would apply.”

“Yes that’s right,” Boris said with a nod. “We’re also unusual because we actually knew each other before.”

“Yes,” Doris confirmed. “Yes, every other time, there were hundreds of Pelamot applicants wanting a chance, but...well...after what happened to the last Keepers…” Doris trailed off, looking as though she was reliving a bad memory.

“Yes you mentioned,” Jenny said, intrigued. “Didn’t you say... _Charn_ had something to do with it?”

“Oh he _did_ all right,” Boris muttered, then talking more clearly he added, “but we don’t have to worry anymore because this place is protected within a twenty-mile radius.”

“That’s why I decided to apply,” Morris said quietly. “Because...well...my depression was so bad even after…” The green Keeper trailed off.

“The Veetacore was said to have healing powers,” Doris interjected. “And it was proven to be correct.”

“Yes, I started to get better within days of coming here,” Morris said with a smile, and Jenny noticed that Boris was holding his hand.

The orange Keeper then spoke, “I only came here because of Morris to begin with, I told him that I couldn’t stop him applying, but he couldn’t stop me either.”

“Yeah I know,” Morris looked lovingly at the orange man. “You couldn’t live without me.”

“Are you two a...couple?” Jenny asked, thinking how adorable they looked.

“Yes they’re a couple,” Doris confirmed. “Been together a long time.”

“I thought you might be,” Jenny beamed.

“Well...we could have told you,” Morris said as he stroked Boris’ arm. Boris had got up and just placed his arms around the green Keeper.

“So what happened?” Doris asked. “With Scott and Amanda, I mean...and your mother.”

“Well...I was never truly able to let...Pelamar go,” Jenny admitted. “Scott was the worst; he denied the whole thing ever happened, that we ever came here, and because of that, he played a part in getting me sectioned.”

“Why would he do that?” Doris asked, disgusted, and the two male Keepers looked the same. “Why would he deny coming here?”

“I suppose he wanted to move on, and he wanted me to just ‘get off his back’,” Jenny recounted. “So he told...certain people that it had just been a game that we played as kids, and that there was no truth in it at all. He denied what had happened, ssssaid I was crazy, told me...I needed help. I told him to get lost and don’t speak to me again. We _haven’t_ spoken since.”

“That’s really bad of Scott,” Morris said, looking sad. “Shame on him.”

“Yeah I really liked him,” Boris said in a small voice. “I mean...wanting to move on is one thing but...to make out that Jenny’s basically just a...nutcase who needs help is just...wrong. How could he?”

“And was Amanda the same?” Doris asked, she also seemed shocked and hurt that someone she had only met weeks ago would deny that she actually existed.

“Well...she didn’t deny that we were here,” Jenny said, then after emptying her beaker of Pelamade and swallowing it, she added, “but she did say that what happened was just a once off, we were called here because we were needed but it was over. That I needed to move on, and I tried for so long I really did.”

“Well I’m glad you came back,” Doris said gently, and touched Jenny’s hand. “You’re the one I really wanted to get to know anyway.”

“Same here,” said Morris softly, then turning to Boris, he added, “you never really got to talk to Jenny did you honey?”

“Well no I had to go on the quest to Widge with Gorwen and the others,” Boris admitted. “I did manage to get to know Amanda and Scott and glad they were there to help but...I don’t think much of people who basically drop you when something better comes along, the way they treated you Jenny was appalling.”

“That’s why I’m not talking to them,” Jenny agreed. “That’s why I told them to get lost, Amanda told me to ‘grow up and get a life’, Scott said ‘whatever’. Can’t decide which is worse.”

“Is that why you fell out with your mother as well?” Doris asked.

“Partly yes,” Jenny said sadly. “But mainly because she can’t get her head around me being a le...I mean liking girls?”

“Why does that bother her?” Doris asked, looking confused. “No one in Pelamar cares who likes who, in fact when you have a child you always wonder, ‘will they be into their own sex or the opposite sex’ and ‘I wonder which way our baby will swing’.”

“Where I come from, everyone is expected to like the opposite sex,” Jenny said bitterly. “If you like your own, then you have to let people know, and they choose to accept it or not. Some people are disowned by their parents, some end up on the streets because of it. In some parts of our world, it’s still illegal to practice homosexual acts. People like me can suffer a great deal because of who we are.”

“That’s awful,” Morris said, looking horrified. “Totally messed up. Wrong. Glad I don’t live in your world.”

“Me too!” Boris agreed. 

“Me three!” Doris said with a chuckle. “We have enough in our world to worry about as it is, such as our Veetacore, and people sometimes being horrible to each other because of their colour.”

“Oh that happens in our world too,” Jenny sighed. “Join the club.”

“Nothing’s perfect,” Boris admitted. “But I’m damned if I’m going to live in a world where they tell you who to love!”

“My _dear_ mother thought I was going through a phase,” Jenny cursed. “She said if I’d never had a boyfriend how can I possibly know, but the thought of being with a boy in that way made me sick, I just didn’t want to so I didn’t even try. Most boys are horrible anyway.”

“I’ve never been with a male,” Doris told her. “I knew from an early age that I’d be strictly women only. I always wondered who I would marry, but anyone I dated wasn’t right for me so I just gave up on love and came here where I wouldn’t meet anyone.”

“But you did meet someone a while back,” Boris blurted out suddenly. “Remember, Starla!”

“NO... _don’t you talk about her...ever!”_ Doris hissed at the orange Keeper.

“We did promise Doris we wouldn’t ever talk about that... _thing again!”_ Morris scolded his boyfriend by giving him a small tap.

“Sorry but I’m just saying you did meet someone while here,” Boris said, looking embarrassed and sitting back on the sofa.

“And now Jenny’s going to want to know about her, _thanks Boris!_ ” Doris crossed her arms huffily.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Jenny said lazily. “I’m kind of too drunk and tired, and ranted on a bit. I never meant to cause you guys to argue.”

“It’s okay,” Doris sighed. “I dated a fairy a couple of years ago, met her while I was out walking.”

“These fairies live in the woods about a mile away and they’re not very nice,” Boris added. “Doris learned the hard way.”

“I did but I learned never to go there again,” Doris said with a weak smile. “They make you fall in love with them and then they shatter your heart, and I would warn off anyone else too.”

“It’s awful having your heart broken,” Jenny sympathised. “It can take forever to get over it, and sometimes you never do.”

Jenny and the Keepers talked well into the night, until they heard the clock chiming.

“Goodness, it’s one o’clock already,” Morris exclaimed. “We should have been in bed hours ago.”

“Thankfully today we finished all our chores early,” Doris yawned. “Is Jenny sleeping in the spare room?”

The Keepers looked at their guest, who had fallen asleep on the sofa about an hour ago.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hungover Jenny notices some shocking differences between Pelamar and the world she came from.

~ _You looked into my eyes, you had me hypnotised and I can still remember you_

_~ Those moments spent together, promising forever and I can still remember you_

Jenny’s eyes opened. She had been having the strangest dream. She had dreamt she was looking at herself in the mirror, wearing a beautiful pale pink dress. Then she had simply awoken!

She continued to lie in the bed and looked around her, instantly not recognising the room she was in. Where was she? She had to think. 

Then it came back to her. The Veetacore House! Pelamar! Doris!

Jenny sat up, then grasped her head in pain...ouch! Of course, she was hungover because she had drunk too much Pelamade the previous night.

She hardly remembered anything at all about coming into this room. She only remembered bits, like staggering in with someone holding her up. Then being told to ‘lie down and sleep it off’.

Yes, she had enjoyed it last night. The Keepers were the first people in a long time whose company she actually enjoyed.

Jenny noticed that she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday but her shoes had been removed. She supposed that if she had been in no fit state to undress and change - not that she had brought anything to change into - then the Keepers were not comfortable simply taking her clothes off. Jenny smiled at the thought of Doris doing just that.

_She can undress me any time,_ she thought to herself with a naughty smile.

After another fifteen minutes or so of lying there and thinking, Jenny decided there was no chance of going back to sleep any time soon. She was starting to feel a little hungry, as well as having a terrible headache. 

She looked around for a clock since her own watch was still set to English time, then she saw one on the bedside table. It was a small and peculiar clock; a very beautiful ornament. 

Its colours were mostly purples and lilacs and its face had what she thought of as a ‘spacey theme’, that is, what looked like a galaxy. The numbers were represented by pretty little stars that went all around the edge, and it glittered and shimmered as she held it. 

Jenny then decided that since she had no idea if or when she would ever return to her world, that she would reset her watch to Pelamot time.

She took off her watch, placing it on the bedside table, then picking up the bedroom clock, took a look at what the time said, and...she was confused. For a minute or two, she looked closely at the pretty silver stars that represented the numbers, and...there seemed to be quite a lot of them all around the edge of the clock face. If they represented the numbers, then there should have only been twelve of them...right?

However, counting them clockwise, she thought that altogether she could count up to...seventeen? Surely that was not right. She rubbed her eyes, then counted for a second time. Again, seventeen stars? This made no sense. 

As well as the two hands representing the minute and hour hand, there was also a bigger, shinier star that ticked all around the clock, which supposedly counted the seconds. 

When this star got to the top, she counted as it went round again...one...two...three...when it got to what should have been the six, she counted thirty-one ticks. Then when it reached right to the top, what should have been the twelve, she counted sixty-eight...surely not. Surely this could _not_ be a clock. But then she was in another world, so why should their clocks be the same as they were back home? 

Jenny decided she had to ask one of the Keepers, that was if they were up of course. She stood up and walked to the window, it was light, but still seemed early to be up. She looked at the strange clock she was holding, the time read what looked like ten past eight. At least that was her guess; the big hand was on the star that...probably represented the two and the small hand was on the star at the bottom, which Jenny had already counted as eight.

Feeling hungry and wanting to know more, she left the bedroom with the clock in hand. It was quiet in the small corridor. She went to see if anyone was possibly up and in the kitchen.

Surprisingly, Morris was already up and dressed. The green Keeper smiled at her, but before he could say, ‘Good morning,’ she walked straight up to him, showed him the clock, and asked, “What is this?”

Morris looked taken aback and confused, “Erm...it’s...a clock,” he replied.

“But...but it’s different from my watch,” Jenny stammered. “Clocks in our world only go up to twelve, but...I counted the stars on this one and there are seventeen...seventeen is where twelve should be!”

Morris was silent for a few seconds before replying, “Well...all I can say to that I suppose is...welcome to Pelamar...well no, not just Pelamar. Our entire world has the same clock, so it’s nothing new to us. There are thirty-four hours in a day!”

“We only have twenty-four hours back home,” Jenny informed him. “I...I must say...I suppose I’ve always wanted more hours in a day.”

Morris nodded awkwardly, and Jenny could clearly see he was trying to look as normal as possible, that is, trying not to look at her as if she was mad.

Jenny then added, “It just means I can’t re-adjust my watch I suppose.”

Morris nodded again, so Jenny decided to change the subject now that the whole clock issue had quickly been established, “Do you have anything for a hangover?” She asked. “Paracetamols or...whatever version of them you have?”

“Erm...how about some nice chamomile tea?” Morris suggested. “That should do the trick.”

Morris was right; within a few minutes, she was sitting at the kitchen table with a warm cup in hand, starting to feel better after only a few sips. Jenny then asked Morris if he was always up so early.

“Oh yes,” he replied with a smile. “A proper early bird I am. Just as well really; there’s so much to do around here such as seeing to the pets and the garden, plus someone has to get started on all the washing that needs doing. I like to get off to an early start. If you ask me, the time spent sleeping is time wasted, especially as it’s my turn to cook today.”

“Don’t you get tired later on?” Jenny asked. “I know I do whenever I get up early for whatever reason.”

“Oh yes,” Morris said with a chuckle. “But luckily there’s time for a nap later, as well as couple time for me and Boris.”

“Sounds like those extra hours in the day really come in handy then,” Jenny marvelled. 

Morris replied to her opinion with, “I never really thought about that, but if we have more hours than you do, then maybe you’re right. There still never seem to be enough hours in the day though, strangely enough.”

“I get that,” Jenny sympathised. “But every day is a new day, a fresh start with no mistakes in it yet.”

“True,” Morris agreed. “Are you hungry? I’m just about to make pancakes with maple syrup.”

“I’m starving,” Jenny’s mouth almost watered at the thought of pancakes, which she had not eaten in years. “Do you want me to help you?”

“Yes okay,” Morris smiled. “I probably won’t eat any myself though. I’ll only be making them for Boris mainly, he loves them, and Doris if she wants any, but I feel bloated and sick if I even eat half of one. I don’t eat breakfast, to be honest.”

“I noticed you didn’t eat much yesterday,” Jenny decided to bring it up now she had the chance. “Are you all right?”

“Oh yes,” Morris said calmly. “I only have a small stomach so I can’t manage much at all.”

“Really?” Jenny asked curiously. She had never spoken to anyone, and certainly not an adult male who had told her anything like that. “Poor you.”

“Oh, I’ve lived with it all my life, I'm used to it,” Morris said dismissively as he casually held on to his cup of tea. “It’s okay I take vitamins and have to make up a drink so that I get the nutrition I might miss out on because of my fairy stomach.”

Jenny was intrigued now. This was obviously a condition that did not exist in her world...or at least she had never heard of anything like it before. So as she was helping the green Keeper make the pancakes, she asked him about it and he told her. 

He had been born with a rare condition known as ‘Fairy Stomach Syndrome’ which meant the sufferer only had a stomach the size of a fairy’s, which was tiny compared to a normal stomach. It was not quite known how and why this sort of thing happened but was believed by many to be some sort of ‘evolution error’. 

The people of this planet, which Morris told her was called ‘Veetonia’ were descended from both human beings and an ancient fairy race that was now extinct. The skin and hair of these fairies had been of many different colours, hence why the people of today had skin of various rainbow shades. To get to the point, although Morris was only able to eat tiny amounts of food, he still needed the same nutrition that a normal person would. So doctors had advised him to eat little and often, and to try and drink a whole nutritional shake that had to be prescribed. Morris said it tasted quite nice but had to drink it slowly to last him throughout the day, or it would fill him up too quickly.

“It’s not ideal at all really,” Morris said sadly. “But drinking it keeps my weight healthy, and I have to try to eat proper food too. I could get malnourished quite easily like I did when I was a kid. My mother even got accused of neglecting me, but thankfully I got a diagnosis really young because she kept taking me to different doctors until they took it seriously. There’s only a handful of people like me in Pelamar.”

“But you look really well so obviously you do everything right,” Jenny said kindly.

“Well I have Boris to make sure that I do,” Morris said, smiling serenely at the mention of the orange Keeper. “He makes sure all of the milkshake in the bottle is gone before the day is out; he’s not happy if it’s bedtime and it’s still not empty. I could easily forget about it and forget to eat anything if it wasn’t for him, and then I can get sick if I’m not careful.”

“Lucky you have Boris then,” Jenny smiled as she placed the maple syrup on the table. “Although you really should try not to forget to drink your shake without being reminded...because...well...you seem the kind of person who gets so busy doing things that you would forget.”

“I can forget yes,” Morris acknowledged. “But Boris cares about me so much he notices when I’m turning pale because I haven’t eaten or drank all day.”

Jenny helped Morris set the table for breakfast, then made a pot of tea, with slices of lemon. Jenny asked if there was any milk, and Morris told her to check in the fridge, but what he said next confused her again.

“I don't think there was much left yesterday,” he said. “But don’t worry I’ll go out in a minute and get some from the tree.”

_From the tree?_

Jenny looked at the green Keeper in an odd way, but Morris did not notice and was stirring the tea in the pot, “Did you say ‘the tree’?” She asked, quickly realising that this was probably another thing that was different in Pelamar.

Morris did not look at her and continued stirring the tea, while answering, “Yes we have a milk tree in the back garden; that’s where we get all our milk from.” Then put the lid back on the teapot and added, “It’s a nice healthy tree that produces milk pods all year round. We can’t believe how quickly it’s grown in the few years since we came here and Boris planted it. He got the seed from the milk farm he grew up on.”

“May I see this tree?” Jenny asked.

Morris gave her a funny look; clearly, such a tree in Pelamar was as normal as an apple tree was in England, “Yes of course but it’s just a tree,” Morris said with a shrug. “It’s in the back garden...in fact would you mind picking a couple of milk pods from it?”

“N...no...no I don’t mind at all but…” Jenny began, but Morris had not noticed her confused face. The green Keeper got up from the table and grabbed a basket from the kitchen counter.

Then handing it to her, he requested, “Pick about three or four, that should do for now.”

”O...k...ayyy,” Jenny stammered, not knowing what to make of it.

“Is there a problem?” The green Keeper asked her.

“N...no...no problem,” Jenny stuttered, trying not to stare into space. “It’s just that I’ve…”

“Oh come on,” Morris said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You only have to stand on your tiptoes to get them, since the milk inside them really weighs the branches down, and they drop off when they get too heavy. We put a net under the tree to catch them so that they don’t burst as they fall, so it’s better to pick them before they do.”

“It’s not that,” Jenny told him. “It’s just...what kind of milk is it exactly? We don’t have milk growing on trees in our world. Well...unless you count coconuts because they have a...sort of milk inside them but…”

“That’s interesting,” said Morris, eyebrows raised. “You come from a strange world, but we’ll talk about that later. I’m going to go and see if Boris is awake yet. You can’t miss the tree; it’s right in the middle of the garden.”

Morris then left her to go and wake up the orange Keeper, leaving Jenny wondering what else was different about Pelamar and its surrounding world. However, she could not stand about all day, so turned and headed towards the back door. 

Morris had been right, the tree could not be missed. Jenny saw that it looked exactly like the tree she had seen yesterday when looking for the Veetacore house. It had pretty, bright green leaves and even a few flowers growing on it. Pretty, delicate and white. Very much like blossoms. She wondered if the tree she had seen yesterday had been the same kind of tree. Had she known, she would have picked one of the pods to taste the milk. Well, what harm would it do? If the milk did not taste good, all she had to do was spit it out, she supposed. 

Jenny looked all around the small garden. The Keepers kept it beautifully. It had pretty flowers growing everywhere, a well-kept lawn, and even a small water feature.

She looked around beyond the garden since it did not have a wall or fence surrounding it. She saw that all around as far as she could see were mountains, fields and trees. 

Clearly, the Veetacore House was in the middle of nowhere, so she wondered where all their supplies came from. Perhaps they grew their own food, or perhaps one of them flew out once a week to shop. She remembered Boris and his flying cricket bat, perhaps the other two had things to fly with as well.

Jenny noticed the round, coconut-like milk pods that Morris had mentioned hanging from the tree and weighing down the branches. There was also a net underneath the tree like the green Keeper had told her about, but nothing had fallen into it yet.

She reached out with two hands to the nearest pod that was hanging. It was like a coconut, but smooth rather than hairy, it almost seemed to be made out of wood...then again that was what trees were, wood. So it was not impossible. She looked at it and felt it’s texture, it was hard, but wrinkled in places. She liked the feel of it.

She then pulled it away from the branch, thinking it would be hard to pick, but as luck would have it, the pod came away quickly. Jenny smiled to herself, now three more to go.

Placing the first milk pod into the basket, she reached for the next one. This pod was easier than the first. Perhaps if she was allowed to live here, she would be doing this regularly.

Perhaps the Keepers would have her pick milk pods every day. That was fine with her if it meant that she was allowed to stay here. Jenny picked three more milk pods from the beautiful tree, each one seemed easier to pick than the last.

Now she had four in her basket, was this enough, or should she pick another one?

_Yes, one more,_ she thought. 

The next one she picked was not only the easiest one yet, but it also seemed to be leaking white liquid from the top. That, she supposed, was the milk. She wondered if it would taste anything like the cows’ milk she had always been used to. She doubted it, but she had to know. She hoped that it would not taste horrid, but if she did not try, she would not know.

Jenny twisted and pulled at the stem that the pod had been hanging by, and it came away easily. She sniffed at the liquid inside. She thought she could get a hint of vanilla, which smelled rather nice, she thought. She then put the pod to her mouth and took a tiny sip.

As the white liquid touched her tongue, it was so delicious that she instantly wanted more. She took a mouthful and swallowed it down. It was cool, creamy and refreshing, like nothing she had ever tasted before. It tasted like a mixture of cows’ milk, vanilla and...if she was not mistaken, it was not unlike white chocolate. 

Whatever it was exactly, she wanted more. Jenny began to chug the entire contents of the pod. She had never felt this happy drinking something before. As the milk went down her throat, she began to feel more alive. The taste made her so happy, happier than any alcohol had ever made her. She preferred it to Pelamade that was for sure, although of course, both drinks were completely different. It was hard to explain, but the milk seemed to give her more energy than she had ever had in her life. Before she knew it, she had drunk the entire contents of the pod. It was like she was on some kind of high. 

Jenny smiled to herself, “That was amazing!” She said out loud. 

“Yes looked like you enjoyed that, naughty,” said a voice behind her.

It was Morris, he was smiling, but Jenny felt herself blushing bright red.

“I’m so sorry,” Jenny whispered awkwardly. “I...I didn’t mean to drink the entire contents...but...it was so nice and I just couldn’t stop and…”

“Oh don’t worry,” Morris laughed as he picked up the basket with the other milk pods inside. “There’s always plenty on the tree, more than we can cope with really, so have as much as you want.”

“It’s delicious!” Jenny exclaimed. “It really is, and I’m not sure I want to drink anything else!”

Morris laughed again, then going off subject, he added, “Well the others are up now, so let’s go and eat breakfast.”

Sure enough, when they got inside, Boris was hungrily eating about five pancakes that he had piled on his plate that were soaked in the maple syrup. He had his mouth full when he looked up at Jenny so all he could do was nod politely and wave to her when she said, “Good morning.”

Jenny’s heart skipped a beat and she could hardly talk at all when she noticed Doris looking up from the table and smiling shyly at her before saying, “Good morning Jenny, did you sleep well?”

Jenny just about managed to smile awkwardly, nod and stutter the words, “Y...yes...thank you Doris.” She felt a feeling of butterflies in her tummy that she was sure...no...she knew that she had never felt for anyone else before.

“Come and sit down, have some breakfast,” The purple Keeper invited her to sit in an empty chair opposite her.

“Absolutely,” Jenny beamed. “These pancakes look delicious!”

“Oh, they are,” Boris confirmed as he helped himself to another one, and looking at Morris added, “They always are when you make them babe.”

“Thank you honey,” Morris yawned. He was feeling the effects of getting up early.

“Jenny, would you like to go out today?” Doris asked. “I know last time you couldn’t go anywhere because you were cooped up in this place, but there are a few places I could show you. I’m not sure where Gorwen will be though so we might not see him today.”

Jenny smiled at the thought of spending time with Doris, “I’d love to go for a nice walk,” she answered cheerfully. “I saw quite a lot of it yesterday and Pelamar’s such a beautiful place.”

She was also just about to add, _‘I’m going to like living here.’_

Then she remembered, this was not really her home, and technically she had no right to be at the Veetacore house. She remembered all those years ago hearing that normally, only the Keepers were allowed to be there...that made her heart sink a little. Would today be the day she would be forced to go back to where she came from? Before she had got to know Pelamar properly...and more importantly...would she stand a chance with Doris?

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think? Please leave your feedback I would love to know what you think. Just don't ask me to make it 'less gay' cos that ain't gonna happen.


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